While Nebraska’s residents aren’t exactly known to be the keenest gamblers, for the time being, they are still allowed to enjoy Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) betting. Although it is not technically legal, contestants should not need to worry about enforcement. Before you play, we recommend reading this guide to ensure you know about the laws surrounding DFS in Nebraska.

Todd Winkler, Editor at online-gambling.com

• Twitter
• Email

Todd Winkler has been an editor at online-gambling.com for 6 years. His focus is on guides and articles about poker games, blackjack, and DFS. With relatives in New Zealand, he is also well aware of the gambling industry in the country.

More About Todd Winkler

Daily Fantasy in Nebraska

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) exist in a legal grey area in Nebraska, but that hasn’t stopped major DFS operators from continuing operations in the state. Progress on most gambling laws in Nebraska tends to be slow, with a bill seeking to legalize and regulate DFS continuing to float through the state government for the past three years. For now, players can choose to bet on a number of DFS platforms. Be aware that because of its uncertain legality, you may be breaking the law.

Online Daily Fantasy Sports in Nebraska – Overview

Despite the fact that the legality of DFS betting is still up for question in the state, both DraftKings and FanDuel are still active in Nebraska. For the time being, there are a number of separate interests who want to change the state’s laws regarding DFS, with some in support of legalization and regulation, and others wanting to ban it entirely.

Those in favor of it want to increase the participation age in line with the states other gambling age laws, which is 19 years old; introduce consumer protection regulations that will cap player participation numbers in pools; prohibit college leagues, and ask for a 6% tax on gross in-state revenues as well as requiring operators to pay annual licensing fees.

The opposing view argues that Nebraska doesn’t need any more gambling activities for residents and that DFS betting is a vice, no matter if it’s a game of skill or a game of chance. While both parties continue to argue, residents can continue to enjoy DFS without state regulations or restrictions. Below, we’ve listed some of the most popular sports leagues in Nebraska and how they are played on DFS.

Online Daily Fantasy NFL – Favorite Sport, Favorite League

As Nebraska’s favorite sport, it makes sense why the National Football Fantasy League is the most popular DFS league in the state. Here, contestants can draft 9 of their favorite NFL stars into their lineup in either public or private contests. We expect many Nebraska players to draft popular Baltimore Ravens punter Sam Koch and Los Angeles Rams placekicker Greg Zuerlein into their fantasy lineups – with both being born and raised in Nebraska.

Online Daily Fantasy NBA – Bounce Back To Victory

The National Basketball Association is also hugely popular in Nebraska, despite the state having no teams in the league. In the NBA Fantasy league, players must draft a lineup of 8 players from at least two different NBA games – all within a salary cap of $50,000 or under. Contests are won based on how many points each chosen player earns in real-life, e.g. 1 point for every point scored, 2 points for a block.

Online Daily Fantasy MLB – A Diamond Opportunity

Nebraska fans should be making the most of the Major Baseball League fantasy draft while they can! In MLB Fantasy, contestants are to draft a team of 10 players that will be playing across two games in that week’s roster. Scoring is also based on players’ real-life performances, with 10 points given for home runs, 5 points for stealing bases, etc.

Online Daily Fantasy MLS – Shoot For Gold!

While Nebraska isn’t represented in any Major Soccer League, the team is home to a lot of local minor league talent that is certain to one day join some of the best MLS teams in the country and beyond. The MLS Fantasy League sees contestants draft a team of 8 players from at least two different games. Contests are won by players scoring points e.g. goals score 10 points, red cards earn -3 points.

College Fantasy Sport – The Most Popular League In Nebraska

While they don’t have any representation in any major professional league, Nebraska residents have plenty to be proud of when it comes to their history in cultivating outstanding college athletic programs. Perhaps the most celebrated would be the University of Nebraska, Lincoln’s Cornhuskers football team. To say that Nebraskans are wild about their Cornhuskers would be an understatement: the team has played to sell-out audiences at their 85,000+ capacity home stadium Memorial Stadium since 1962!

The team has 5 national titles to their name and bears the prestigious honor of having the fourth-highest amount of victories over opponents in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision! So make sure that when you’re drafting your team of players from across the country, don’t forget to include a few Cornhuskers in there!

Timeline of Daily Fantasy Sports Legislation

Nebraska’s stance on gambling has been slow to change over the years, with the state yet to build any commercial casinos or legalize sports betting. Laws in Nebraska are so conservative that citizens are not even allowed to own personal antique slot machines for fear of breaking the law. For this reason, it’s not surprising why DFS laws have taken so long to be embraced. Below, we’ve created a timeline of important years in Nebraska’s gambling history. For more information on gambling in the state, visit our dedicated Nebraska gambling page.

Legal Daily Fantasy Betting Age in Nebraska

Because DFS is not technically legal in Nebraska, there isn’t a legal gambling age for players. Despite this, DFS operators only allow players that are 18 years and older, while Nebraska only allows players who are over 19 to gamble on racing, the state lottery, and KENO. If a player is caught gambling underage, there are no punishments listed – although their winnings will be void. Operators caught knowingly allowing minors to play can face up to one year of imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

• DFS Betting Age
  Players must be over 18 years old to play on DFS Sites in Nebraska. However, it may be illegal.
• Alcohol Age
  The legal drinking age in Nebraska is 21 years old.
• Weed Age
  Recreational smoking of cannabis is still illegal in Nebraska.

Is Daily Fantasy Betting Legal Outside of the State?

Daily Fantasy League betting is legal in most states in the USA, with only nine states remaining who continue to officially block DFS activities. These states include Hawaii, Nevada and Idaho. Some states, like Florida and Nebraska, are yet to confirm that DFS is not a game of chance but rather a game of skill and so while not technically illegal, are also not technically legal. A couple of states consider all forms of gambling to be a vice and are showing little interest to make it legal in the near future.

The Best Fantasy Sports App in Nebraska

If you don’t own a computer or laptop, you’re still able to enjoy DFS betting from your mobile phone with ease! Most major DFS websites have either created mobile apps or have developed fully mobile-optimized websites. This way, you can draft, bet and check scores while you’re out and about. This is the most convenient way to play, so we recommend downloading an app today. Based on our experience, we suggest downloading the DraftKings app for DFS betting due to its ease of use and speed.

Taxes on Daily Fantasy Winnings: Legal Overview

Any of your potential winnings are fully taxable at a rate of 25% for federal taxes, because they should be subjected to the federal taxes in Nebraska. Please, visit the website of the IRS for more info.

Upcoming Regulation Changes to Be Aware Of

It’s hard to say whether or not Nebraska’s lawmakers will eventually come around to legalized and regulated DFS betting. The support for both sides of the argument is so much so that the efforts to progress seem to be caught in a stalemate. While this is still better than an alternative where DFS is made illegal and operators have to leave the state, this still creates a lack of legal clarity for DFS activities that could be avoided.

The state has also shown a similar reluctance to allowing sports betting to go through, which many see as potentially doing harm to the state due to neighbor state Iowa’s recent legalization of sports betting. Some have rightly assumed that some Nebraska natives may head to Iowa to wager on real-life sports matches. If DFS is similarly made illegal in Nebraska, we have no reason to assume that locals won’t similarly cross state lines to enjoy betting on fantasy leagues.

Daily Fantasy Guides for Nearby States

• Iowa
• Kansas
• South Dakota
• Colorado